1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of Anthostema-senegalense in the preparation of a drug for the treatment of the infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), of AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) and the accompanying clinical manifestations.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
In general, The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, better known by its acronym AIDS, is a disease that results in a series of symptoms following the destruction of cells of the immune system by a retrovirus referred to as human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, two types are currently known: HIV-1 and HIV-2. AIDS is the last stage of the infection with this virus, which generally leads to the death of the people infected with opportunistic diseases.
The transmission of the AIDS virus occurs through sexual, blood, or mother-to-child transmission (through the placenta or during childbirth and/or breastfeeding). The viral particles of HIV present in the body fluids infect the cells of the immune system, in particular the T4 lymphocytes, which possess suitable receptors (the CD4 proteins).
As a result of the primary infection, the patient goes through an asymptomatic phase that can last for about ten years, during which he exhibits no symptoms of the disease, but during which his T4 lymphocytes and his macrophages are progressively destroyed by the HIV. At this stage, the individual has antibodies directed against the virus: he is said to be HIV-positive.
When his immune system is too weak, the symptoms of AIDS appear. Opportunistic diseases break out, such as for example tuberculosis, pneumonia or pneumocystis, but also herpes, or cancers (Kaposi's sarcoma, lymphomas, etc.), which can lead to the death of the patient.
The infection with the HIV virus is an epidemic that developed from the late 1970s and is now affecting the entire planet, both the developed countries and the developing countries, making this disease a global health problem. According to an estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO) dated December, 2012, more than 34 million people would be infected with the HIV virus worldwide, among whom 3.3 million children under 15 years of age. Sub-Saharan Africa alone would account for 69% of the cases. There would be approximately 2.5 million new infections annually, and 1.7 million deaths were reported in 2011.
Currently, it is not possible to cure AIDS and prevention, especially the use of a condom, remains the best option to fight the HIV virus, because there is currently no vaccine permitting to be protected against this virus.
There are nevertheless treatments that permit to slow down the evolution of the disease towards the AIDS stage. These treatments consist in taking one or preferably several antiviral molecules in combination for a higher efficiency. The triple therapies, which group three antiviral molecules, are generally recommended and are considered as being the most effective to contain the action of the virus and to stop its proliferation within the organism.
These treatments, which must be continued throughout the patients' lives, are very expensive and are therefore only very rarely available in the developing countries because the populations cannot bear the financial burden. In these countries, namely in Africa and in Asia, where the virus is very present, a vast majority of patients do nowadays not benefit from any effective treatment. Now, in the absence of a treatment, almost all HIV-infected patients progress to AIDS, and then to death.
In addition, even in countries where the triple therapies are prescribed, the latter are not effective on all patients. Indeed, there is a significant proportion of patients treated for whom this type of treatment remains ineffective (virological escape), even completely ineffective (therapeutic failure).
Furthermore, even when they are effective, these treatments have significant adverse effects as well as some toxicity, which reduces the patients' quality of life. Some patients, who no longer withstand these side effects, stop their treatment, whereas the latter must be followed very consistently in order to avoid making the virus resistant.
Finally, the molecules used in the triple therapies are often fragile molecules that require strict conditions of preservation, which is particularly problematic in hot and/or humid countries, namely in Africa and Asia.
In the developing countries, namely in Africa, it would be particularly interesting for all these reasons to have an effective and much cheaper treatment, obtained from local plants and in a form that does not raise preservation problems.
This is the aim of the invention, the aim of which is to provide an effective drug, which generates fewer side effects and the cost of which remains low compared to the cost of the triple therapies currently recommended in case of infection with the HIV.
This drug could also be provided in the developed countries as a complement to the current triple therapies for better efficiency or for treating undesirable side effects, or to replace them for economic reasons, to limit the side effects or in the cases where the conventional treatments are ineffective.